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Most Viewed Video Ads: Super Bowl Finalists

February 04, 2019

This year brands utilized nostalgia, humor, celebrities, and cause-marketing to grab viewer attention during the big game.

Stella Artois

Coming in first place is Stella Artois with over 48 million views! The brand has combined celebrities, a great cause, iconic characters, and humor to come out on top. Stella Artois teamed up with Water.org for their Super Bowl ad for the second year in a row. In this year’s campaign, Sarah Jessica Parker makes an appearance as Carrie Bradshaw, who instead of ordering her usual cosmopolitan, switches it up to a Stella Artois to help provide water access to people in need. Jeff Bridges does the same as the Dude from The Big Lebowski, ordering a Stella instead of his usual. This is also the first of three campaigns to make the chart that bring up iconic ’90s moments.

Amazon

Amazon takes second with over 39 million views for their comical campaign promoting Amazon Echo. The brand shows all the products they’ve tried to put Alexa in that didn’t make the cut, including a toothbrush, a dog collar that allows your dog to order everything they want, a dangerous hot tub, and even the international space station. Amazon also incorporates a wide variety of celebrities, helping them reach a large audience. These celebrities include Harrison Ford, Forest Whitaker, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson from Broad City, and astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly.

Hyundai

Third place goes to Hyundai with over 38 million views forThe Elevator starring Jason Bateman. Hyundai is trying to make car shopping less of a hellish experience with Hyundai shopper assurance. A couple enters an elevator saying they are going car shopping, and Jason Bateman as elevator operator tells them they’re going way down. The couple watches as other riders get dropped off at “horrifying” floors such as jury duty, root canal, and even a long flight stuck in the middle seat. When the couple explains they aren’t going to just any car lot, but used Hyundai Shopper Assurance, they’re whisked back up the floors to a Hyundai showroom in the clouds.

Budweiser

Budweiser is back in the big game with a combination that has served them well in the past, the Budweiser Clydesdales and an adorable dog. The brand is in fourth place with over 30 million views, and like Stella they are taking a cause-related approach to draw viewer attention. The lighthearted ad features a Dalmatian on a Budweiser wagon, enjoying the ride as her ears flap in the wind. This scene is paired up with the Bob Dylan song “Blowing In the Wind” to promote Budweiser’s use of wind power in manufacturing.

Pepsi

Pepsi utilizes humor and unlikely pairs of celebrities like Steve Carell and Cardi B for their Super Bowl ad. In it, they address the common response to the statement “I’d like a Coke” with “is Pepsi OK?”. Carell goes on a rant about how Pepsi is more than ‘OK’ with appearances by Lil Jon and Cardi B.

Doritos

Doritos is stirring up ’90s nostalgia in Now It’s Hot, promoting the new Flamin’ Hot Nacho Doritos. After the brand’s success last year with a music video style ad, they tried it again this year. The Back Street Boys and Chance the Rapper come together to deliver a Doritos-themed remix of the ’90s classic “I Want It That Way,” for Doritos’ big game ad.

Olay

Another ad taking us back to the ’90s is Olay’s Killer Skin, which grabbed 7th place with over 21 million views. The campaign stars Sarah Michelle Gellar in a spoof of horror movies, bringing us back to her scream queen roots from her roles in Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer. In the ad Sarah tries to call for help when the villain is closing in, but she can’t unlock her phone to make the call. The facial recognition won’t work because Olay products have improved her skin so much.